How Soil Moisture Leads To Water Damage In A Home’s Basement
It’s best to prepare yourself now: If you have a foundation or a basement, chances are you will get a leak at some point. That’s just part of owning a home or property. Because the moisture level changes so drastically in the soil (like this summer’s extreme drought), your home’s foundation walls and floors will be under a great deal of stress. Let us explain…
Without moisture, dry soil contracts and pulls away from the foundation walls and footings. Obviously this isn’t what causes the leaky basement, but it does cause stress, cracks and settling, and that’s where the leaks come in. These detrimental cracks in the foundation become the places where leaks appear once the rains come back and moisture is reintroduced to the soil.
On the flipside, when the soil is wet, it expands and pushes against a foundation’s walls and footings. This pushing squeeze against the foundation walls causing cracks and making the walls bow inward. The wet soil can also squeeze against the bottom of your floor and create cracks and heaving. Depending on the severity of the problem, water can enter the basement through these cracks and create damage to your home.
When the change in soil causes cracks that lead to basement leaks, there are several solutions we at Gordon Energy & Drainage can offer depending on the nature of the problem.
PROBLEM: Water comes up from underneath the floor through cracks or other penetrations.
SOLUTION: We break up the concrete floor and install a sump pit to collect the water. Then we install a sump pump to discharge that water and install a drain tile.
PROBLEM: Water comes through a crack in the foundation wall.
POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS:
1. Dig up and expose the crack on the outside and patch the crack with waterproofing.
2. Inject the crack from the inside using epoxy or chemical grout.
3. Do both repairs listed above.
PROBLEM: Multiple cracks on the foundation wall are allowing water to seep through.
POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS:
1. Dig up and expose the entire foundation wall down to the footing. Install a waterproofing membrane and drainage board on the entire wall; then install a drain tile system that takes this water to a sump pump or daylight.
2. Install a collection system on the inside of the wall that collects the water and takes it to a sump pump.
Should the soil moisture level create problems for your foundation that lead to cracks an leaks, we want you to know that there is usually a solution—maybe even more than one. The key is to know the options, lay them out on the table and then pick one based on the costs and probable outcome.
At Gordon Energy & Drainage it’s our job to help you through that process. We’ll examine your home and help you determine both the cause of the leak and the best way to fix it. Our professionals will walk you through all of the available options and help you determine the best solution for your situation. We’ll help you stay leak-free once the moisture returns. Whenever that may be.
